President John Dramani Mahama has warned of a dangerous drift toward unilateralism and lawlessness in global affairs, saying the UN Charter must reign supreme over the doctrine that “might makes right.”

Addressing the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, President Mahama said the veto power must never serve as a license for impunity.

“Sovereign equality cannot be a privilege reserved only for nations aligned with global superpowers,” he stated.

He said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose Secretariat Ghana hosts in Accra, is Africa’s engine for intra-African trade, structural transformation and industrial growth.

On Gaza, President Mahama condemned what he described as the persecution of the Palestinian people.

“We must stop using diplomatic euphemisms to veil the human carnage taking place in Gaza. How many more innocent lives must be lost before the world acts with decisive moral authority? The blood of five-year-old Hind Rajab, and the more than 20,000 children killed in this brutal conflict, cries out to the conscience of the world,” he said.

“Collective punishment, enforced starvation, and mass displacement are flagrant violations of international law. Ghana remains unwavering in its recognition of the sovereign State of Palestine and its steadfast support for a viable Two-State solution, where Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace, security, and guaranteed borders.”

He added: “At the same time, we condemn all acts of terrorism by Hamas that triggered this conflict. We insist that all parties unconditionally respect international humanitarian law. Our moral standards cannot be selective.”

President Mahama reiterated Ghana’s call for the immediate lifting of the decades-long economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed on Cuba, saying the world must support Cuba’s new Economic and Social Programme.

“Measures that inflict collective economic hardship on ordinary citizens run counter to our shared commitment to human dignity and international law,” he noted.

He also called for elevated global response to Sudan, described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and for solidarity with nations facing terrorism, especially the Alliance of Sahel States.

“The current Middle East crisis is having a deleterious effect on the world economy. We call for a return to the negotiating table. And let me add that no human civilisation deserves to be annihilated, certainly not a member state of the United Nations. I believe that dialogue can resolve even the most intractable of problems,” he said.

“Across every conflict, whether in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa, the standard must remain uniform: respect sovereign integrity, protect civilians, ensure unhindered humanitarian access, and hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable.”

On climate change, President Mahama said melting glaciers, flash flooding, droughts, heatwaves, brush fires and hurricanes are unmistakable signals of an overburdened planet.

“Climate change is the ultimate test of global equity. Africa contributes less than 4 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet bears some of the heaviest burden of climate devastation,” he said.

He cited the 29 June deluge in Ghana and coastal West Africa, where torrential rain exceeding 160 millimetres was dumped on seven coastal regions within 24 hours, resulting in 39 deaths and one still missing.

“Climate justice demands that developed nations fulfil their long-overdue financial commitments. Mitigation support must be operationalised with predictable, non-debt-creating grants, not loans that further indebt fragile economies,” he stated.

On health security, he called for an equitable global health architecture that guarantees regional manufacturing of vaccines and therapeutics and funds resilient public health infrastructure across the Global South in accordance with the Accra Reset.

President Mahama said African leaders must also put their houses in order.

“As the legal maxim goes: ‘Whoever comes into equity must come with clean hands.’ African leadership must be transparent and accountable. We must fight corruption and ensure that every dollar of our people’s money counts and is used efficiently in their interest,” he said.

Outlining Ghana’s Resetting Agenda, he said in less than two years, disciplined governance, fiscal prudence and an uncompromising fight against corruption had delivered what some describe as the “Ghanaian miracle,” restoring growth, reducing inflation, stabilising the cedi and lowering public debt.

He cited the Big Push Programme for infrastructure, the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, and the soon-to-be-launched ‘New Ghana, New Economy’ policy to transform Ghana into an industrial hub.

“Central to our national reset is a revolutionary expansion of social protection and universal healthcare,” he said, referencing the Free Primary Health Care Programme hailed by WHO and UN as a benchmark paradigm shift, and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as MahamaCare, for Non-Communicable Diseases.

“I have always believed that democracy must deliver tangible social benefits. Citizens must experience democracy not only through the ballot box every four years, but through improved access to food, quality education, decent housing, accessible healthcare, and economic opportunity,” he said.

He said Ghana remains a beacon of constitutional democracy, media freedom, rule of law and peaceful transitions, as it prepares to celebrate its 70th Anniversary of Independence in March 2027 and assume Chairmanship of the African Union in January 2027.